Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton said collecting this information will help the government educate people about how damaging but preventable littering is to our environment.

“Many of the bottles floating in our waterways won't be there after December when the government’s container deposit scheme is introduced but there is still much more litter being swept into waterways that can be prevented,” Ms Upton said.

As part of the campaign, NSW residents are encouraged to register to ‘Report to EPA’ when they see someone littering from a vehicle.

Since February 2015 more than 20,000 people have registered across the state and the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has issued more than 17,200 fines.

The EPA can issue fines of $250 for an individual and $500 for a corporation for littering from a vehicle, based on public reports.